As I spent my Thanksgiving Break visiting all my family in Michigan, my grandparents were in the kitchen making their infamous Hungarian Chicken Paprikash and showing me their old bible that contained our family tree. It got me thinking...we all have unique families that are not like any other in the world. Each family hold different stories that make us who we are today. Every single individual around you has a different concoction of blood lines from all around the world. And we should be proud of that. So whether you are Irish or Italian (or like me and you are a mutt of many, many different ethinicies) I challenge you to incorporate these heritages into your life. It is fascinating to know that you have blood relations to people that lived in times that we learn in our history classes today. Between the Trojan War to the Black Death, you had distant relatives that experienced these things that shaped modern day life. Our grandparents are the living connection to the past. So if you are lucky enough to still have them around, make the most of their presence by asking questions to get to know about your family's history. You might have snippets of knowledge on your family but you will be amazed at what you have yet to know. I took it upon myself this Thanksgiving to dig a little deeper and I could tell how happy my grandma was to see I was interested. For example, my grandma shared with me her struggles of growing up with parents that were dirt poor Greek immigrants with little knowledge of English. I learned her father came over all by himself at just sixteen years old from a small village in Greece called Siatista. This choice in the path in life significantly shaped the Hatzizisis family forever. It makes my whole family, who we are today. It's the little things that are so interesting to me. Embrace their traditions because they have shaped you, whether you realize it or not. I personally plan to continue making all the delicious foreign food my grandma makes because it is all that I know. Looking back, I wouldn't have it any other way. It makes my Thanksgiving stories different and I'm proud of that.